


The Impossible

by ficmook



Category: markiplier - Fandom, youtube - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Less-than-canon Darkiplier, Slow Burn, greatly flawed logic, like ridiculously slow burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-25 14:55:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 9,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7537168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ficmook/pseuds/ficmook
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Since the universe was in a wish-granting mood, maybe it would be willing to make her a millionaire, give her a hundred dogs...<br/>In any case what it had given her was a chance to meet her hero - and she was over the moon. Three days, one-on-one, hanging out with the person she idolised above all else; it doesn't get better than this. But all wishes come with a toll - can she afford to pay it?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

She couldn't stop fidgeting: picking at her nails, drumming on her thighs, rolling on the balls of her feet. At that moment, a pterodactyl could have landed right next to her and she wouldn't have noticed. She pulled on her headphone cord, debating whether or not they would stop her noticing when he arrived.

Markiplier. To meet her.

She bit down upon her smile as it spread across her cheeks once more as it had done incessantly throughout that day. Her mind was lost once more as she considered the odds of her having the opportunity unprompted - she didn't quite understand why; it wasn't something that just happened. But yet it was, and she wasn't complaining.

A tap on her shoulder, and she whipped round, reacting like a coiled spring, yanking her headphones out. Deep brown eyes, oh-so-familiar fluff and scruff; no denying it now - it was actually happening.

"Y/n, right?" He questioned, slight apprehension laced through his tone.

"Yeah! That's me!" Excitement and anxiety coming through in equal measure."It's really cool to be able to meet you!"

He chuckled lightly. "Thank you. Do you need help with your bags?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you." She couldn't help the smile upon her face, despite being desperately aware of her whole body. She grabbed her bags and Mark led her to where his car was parked. They filled the air with mindless small-talk, as pleasant and polite as it was meaningless. She laid her bags in the boot, and scampered around to the passenger side seat.

As they clicked in their seat belts and ran out of pleasantries, the questions preying on y/n's mind became too uncontainable.

"So why'd you want to do this fan-meeting experience thingy?" She blurted, proud that she got something at least somewhat intelligible out.

Turning on the engine, and checking the mirrors, he pulled his iconic grin, and said "I just wanted to be able to give a bit back to my community, even if it was just to one person."

Y/n laughed cheerily, attempting to think of a response. Sorting through assurances, questions and jokes, she settled with, "It is really cool of you to give up your time and pay for all my expenses!" I've managed to say 'cool' twice within the same conversation, she thought. "By the way, where is the hotel that I'm gonna be staying at?"

He coasted his eyes in her direction momentarily, before looking at the road again, starting to pull out into traffic. "Oh, I thought that you could stay in my spare room, get the full experience. Is that alright with you?" His eyes returned to her, and lingered a little longer this time, before darting back to the road.

Somewhat taken aback, she quickly returned with "Oh yeah, of course!", momentarily confused, but quickly shrugging it off.

Mark started to lay out a rough plan of what they'd be doing over the next few days. Y/n eagerly agreed with everything, still somewhat overwhelmed by the whole experience. She mainly watched the world go by out the window, stealing glances at Mark only for a few moments at a time. Conversation slipped from the administration naturally into jokes and references and memes. Y/n would probably have been happy just to listen to Mark read the dictionary, so this had her feeling like she was on cloud nine.

She did notice, however, a slight tremor in Mark's hands, and every so often he would twitch. Concerned for his wellbeing, she gently mentioned it.

"Oh," He laughed lightheartedly. "I had a bit too much coffee this morning - just a caffeine overload." He laughed again, then quickly changed the topic.

"Now, you promise you won't post my address all over the internet, right?" He joked.

"Cross my heart." Y/n laughed out. Mere moments later he pulled into the driveway, and turned off the engine.

"Welcome to casa de Mark." He said, with a goofy grin.


	2. Media

Stepping from the car, Y/n looked around her, still hovering on the edge of disbelief. After a couple seconds, she remembered her bags, and hastily scampered back to the boot of the car, where Mark was opening it up.

"Oh, you don't have to do that!" Y/n said, as Mark grabbed one of her bags.

"No, I insist." Mark said, collecting the other one with the same hand. He shut the boot, languidly leading Y/n up to the house. Hanging the bags over his shoulder, he pulled his keys from his jeans pockets, and unlocked the door. Y/n attempted to subtly satiate her curiosity before entering, looking through the windows, memorising every detail of what surrounded her.

Mark pushed the door open, dropping the keys on a side table as he entered, then gently putting the bags down. Y/n followed carefully, as though just by entering she might break something. She had the feeling that something was missing... and then it came to her.

"Where's Chica?" She asked.

Mark looked at her for a second, saying "Oh Chica!" He laughed shortly, looking away. "She's at the vet at the moment - she's a bit sick."

"Oh gosh! I didn't know. I hope she's okay." Concern held itself in her words, but Mark's didn't seem to suggest any worry at all.

"Yeah, of course. She'll be back in a couple of days." He stated, completely nonchalant. _Mr brave face over here_ , Y/n thought. Mark turned to face her straight on, and put on a wide grin.

"So, how about some selfies!" He exclaimed eagerly.

Would have thought that I would be the one asking that question.

"Yeah, sure!" She matched his tone and energy. He hastily led her through to the garden, and pulled out his phone. He pulled a dumb face, and Y/n instinctively did the same. She held in her laughter as they took picture after picture. Mark then took Y/n's phone off her, and they did the same again.

After ten minutes of photo-taking, Mark and Y/n let the laughter roll out unrestrained.

"Okay, let's upload the photos." Mark said, after the laughter ran out. He didn't try to go in, and instead just stood there, adding captions and spreading across social media. Y/n, still on a high after so much laughter, just followed his lead, and shared them on all her social media. Mark finished up before her, and silently stood there, staring at Y/n's phone. She was almost oblivious to him as she finished up her posts. She looked up, and Mark's face instantly changed from neutral concentration, to a giant grin. He said nothing as he led her back inside.

He grabbed Y/n's bags, and led her upstairs to the guest room. He almost seemed like he was just going to leave in silence, but then suddenly blurted out "This is your room. I'll give you some time to sort out your things and get comfortable." He smiled, then twisted on his feet and walked off.

Feeling a touch dazed, Y/n stepped into the room. Mark had left her bags in the doorway, so she set to work sorting out her stuff.

\----------

It was early evening as Y/n smelt food drift towards her room. She sat up from where she was half-laying across the bed, placing her phone beside her. After a few moments, Mark knocked lightly on her door.

"I've ordered pizza. It's downstairs when you're ready." He said gently.

"I'll be down in a minute" Y/ n said, getting to her feet. Leaving her phone on the bed, she stepped over to the mirror. _Makeup, check; hair,_ she ran her fingers through her hair, _check. Okay, ready._ A last deep breath, and she went downstairs.

She looked around as she reached the ground floor, finding Mark in the living room. Her smile was unavoidable, as she laid eyes upon Mark in such a casual, unfiltered manor. He hadn't noticed her yet, and was relaxed into the sofa, flicking through TV channels.

"Hey." y/n said quietly, not wishing to startle him. His head snapped round, startled despite Y/n's best attempt.

"Oh, hey! I didn't hear you come down." He laughed gently, gesturing to the seat beside him. "I didn't know what toppings you liked, so I just got pepperoni. I also don't know what you want to watch." He said, somewhat sheepishly.

"I don't mind." Her tone mirrored his as she took her seat. Two plates sat on the coffee table, each with two slices on them, the pizza box sitting open behind them. Mark put on Animal Planet, a generally safe choice.

Y/n reached for the pizza, but Mark quickly said "Hang on!" She hastily retracted her arm, as Mark pulled out his phone, and took a photo of the food on the coffee table. "Do you want to take a photo too?" He said casually.

Y/n was limitlessly confused, but just said "I left my phone upstairs." Mark didn't look at her, but for a moment a scowl crossed his features. But within seconds he was jovial once more, and merely uploaded his photo to social media without further comment on the matter.

Y/n grabbed her plate cautiously, but when she was met with no opposition eagerly tucked in. The rest of the meal was filled with sarcastic commentary on the show, and inane conversation, and once again both Mark and Y/n were filled with laughter.

Y/n quickly forgot Mark's odd behaviour, and just enjoyed the meal and the time.

Although she did notice that Mark was still twitching.


	3. Madness

She attempted to smother a yawn mid-sentence, rubbing at her eyes. Unfortunately, she realised that she probably couldn't watch sloths being adorable for the entire evening, especially since she had been for the last four hours. Not that she was there for the sloths.

Okay, not that she was _only_ there for the sloths.

"I may have to head off to bed." Y/n said quietly. Mark looked over, giving her an appraising look, before smiling sympathetically.

"It is getting late, isn't it?" He said, mirroring Y/n's body and tone. Y/n smiled, and got to her feet.

"G'd night Mark." She said, the name feeling foreign in her mouth.

"Good night, Y/n." He looked back to the tv as Y/n turned and walked upstairs. She stepped into her room with grace, shut the door, and aggressively flopped face first onto the bed, considering the probability that she was in an asylum or comatose or... something other than going to bed in her heroes house.

She huffed into the duvet, deciding that even if she was mad, this was an acceptable madness. She grasped around blindly for her phone, lifting her head up, and squinted at the screen.

"Holy crap..." She breathed, looking at the notifications. She opened her mouth and closed it again repeatedly, trying to figure out a starting place. Realising it was far too many to deal with, she just cleared all her notifications, and put her phone on 'Do Not Disturb'. _This fandom acts fast_ , she thought, although she wasn't really surprised. She reached for the charger she'd set up earlier, plugged her phone in, and rolled off the bed. She stretched out, then got ready to sleep.

\----------

Her eyes flew open. She looked around in front of her, but saw nothing in the dark. She couldn't quite tell why she woke up, but she felt uneasy in a way she couldn't place... so she just listened. Then she felt it - the brush of air, coming from the door.

The open door.

She held her breath, running through reasons why the door may be open, before she heard it. Breathing. _This would be a really good time for it to turn out Chica is here..._ she thought desperately.

The light flicked on. She shot to her feet, and saw... Mark?

She burst into laughter, fueled by relief and confusion. Mark just cocked his head.

"What are you doing in here? You scared me!" She said, still laughing. He just stood there, staring at her. He took a step forward. She looked at him and saw something off - his eyes were pitch black.

And she just laughed even more.

"Why are you laughing?" His voice sounded distorted, angry. She choked down her laughter, and looked at him.

"'Cause it's funny, Mark. What, did you think I'd actually believe you were a demon or whatever?" She said, and started laughing again. He took another step forward. It seemed to get colder.

"Why do you think you're here? Because Mark 'cares'? Because you're 'special'?" He said, distorted and cold. She kept on laughing, but there was pause in her mind, wondering if he really was... something else.

"I am what he was, but infinitely different. I am going to tear down everything he has built - and this is the beginning." He stepped forward again. The cold in the air was now undeniable, as Y/n's skin was covered goosebumps. The laughter died in her throat, as she tried to make sense of it. Mark, or whatever it was, was now only three feet away. Y/n took in a deep breath.

"Yup. I'm definitely mad. Completely batty!" She flopped onto the bed, and let out a huff.

"What are you doing?" He snarled, standing over her.

"Apparently, being a crazy person." She stated aggressively. "Y'know, I wouldn't have thought an asylum bed would be this soft." Not-Mark stalled, looking confused. After only a second, he returned to before.

"I am going to end your life, but not before you suffer so much you are begging for it and th-" The distortions built throughout his statement, but Y/n cut him off.

"Uuuuuuugghh..." Y/n snarled, sitting up. "I don't actually care." Not-Mark was instantly taken aback. What had happened to the timid, anxious girl from earlier? What was he supposed to do if she wasn't playing his game?

"LISTEN TO ME!" He yelled, the room shaking as he did.

"WHY?" She yelled back, getting to her feet, mere inches away from him, looking him dead in the eye.

"I am going to kill you!" He snarled.

"Then do it - go on. What are you waiting for?" she goaded. Not-Mark tensed up, hands balling into fists.

And then he just turned on his heel, and started pacing, letting out a frustrated growl. Y/n watched, bemused, as he came back to face her.

"Why aren't you scared of me? Why are you not begging for your life?" He seemed as though he wanted to be intimidating still, but he sounded like a whining child.

"Why should I be? You're just a cliché. And I'm probably mad anyway." She stated bluntly. He looked as though he was going to reach for her, but paused abruptly, and aggressively sat down on the bed. Apprehensively, Y/n sat next to him.

"Dark... My name is Dark."


	4. Split

She was taken aback by the change of pace; one moment he was literally trying to end her life, the next...

"Hi 'Dark'." She said hesitantly.

Dark hunched, all-but smashing his head into his hands. Searching for something to say, Y/n went for satiating her curiosity.

"Why do you feel like you need to destroy Mark's work?" She asked gently. He stiffened slightly, digging his fingers into his face, saying:

"He was so... Urgh!" He smashed his hand against the bed. Y/n jumped, but tried to keep calm, feeling as though any fear may turn him back to how he was before. He pushed out a large breath. "You've seen him. God, you _adore_ him! He didn't even know who you are, yet you literally came to his house the moment he suggested, even jumping at the chance! It's just so..." He clenched his fist, then let out a huff.

 _It seems envy has black eyes instead of green..._ She thought, before something clicked.

"What do you mean 'was'?" She tried to keep the fear from her voice.

"'Was'?" He snarled, looking her dead in the eye.

"You referred to Mark in the past tense; what happened to him Dark?" She demanded.

Dark immediately straightened, and lunged at her, grasping her by the throat.

"YOUR _PRECIOUS_ MARK IS GONE. I AM ALL THAT IS LEFT." The distortions returned, as he bellowed at her, raising her into the air as he stood.

_No fear, no fear, no fear._

"Put. Me. Down." She demanded, holding back the primal fear flooding through her. She held her breath, as he narrowed his eyes at her. He simply dropped her, and she almost crumpled to the ground. She straightened as fast as possible, keeping herself from instinctively clutching her throat. She looked Dark in the eye.

"Give me a straight answer, Dark." She said, refusing to back down. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"I am him. We are one and the same. It's not how it's always been for him, but it is for me." He stated. Y/n relaxed slightly, and persevered.

"How long have you... been in control?"

"A few weeks of full control, but that is something that has grown since I've existed." He was clearly displeased with the conversation, his loathing for Mark palpable.

"Is he still in there?" As hard as she tried, her hopes still rose. Dark burst out in bitter laughter.

"Oh yes! He can see everything I've been doing with his body, and will watch as I tear it all down!" His laughter became louder, almost maniacal.

It cut off abruptly.

"Starting with you." He reached out once more, and his hands closed around her throat again. She felt him cutting off her air. As he lifted her, she lashed out, trying to pry his hands from her, kicking him wherever she could make contact. She tried to scream, but this time he was trying. Not a whisper could make it past his hands. She felt herself get lightheaded, her energy fading, her vision blurring. The last thing she felt was her body impacting the floor.


	5. Breathing

Her throat hurt. She didn't want to be awake, but she was. She was awake.

_I'm awake; I'm alive._

She snapped her eyes open, but immediately regretted it.

"Urgh..." She moaned, burying her face into the blankets around her. 

_Maybe eternal sleep wouldn't have been that bad._

"Hey y/n." Mark said gently. Y/n froze. _Not Mark._ She lifted her head from the blankets, squinting her aching eyes to see into the brightness. They settled on Mark/Dark.

His hands were in his lap, his thumb running circles over his palm. He was hunched, disheveled... he looked worried.

"How... how are you?" His voice was rough, tired. 

"D-Dark?" She tried to be calm, but it came out as a terrified whisper.

"No no no... _'Dark'_   isn't here at the moment." He looked at his hands for a moment, taking a breath, before looking back at Y/n. She just looked back, not quite processing. 

_So not not-Mark? Is this good? Am I safe? Am... Should... Can..?_

_I should say something._

"How... are you?" She forced out slowly, becoming more acutely aware of the pain in her neck.

"I'm alright. What about you?" 

Y/n pulled herself up so she was sitting, mentally running through her injuries. 

"I'm not dead, which is probably a good start." Mark winced slightly. "What exactly happened; what happened to Dark?"

"I... I was still in there, watching as he... did what he did. I fought against it, but when he tried to..." He paused, pulling in a shaky breath. "It was like adrenaline; I could fight against when I couldn't before, and I took over again. Just in time apparently." He let out a breathy laugh, staring at his hands. 

The fear left Y/n. This wasn't the unpredictable, violent thing that had been hunting her before, but a man guilty and haunted. She rubbed at her neck, certain it was bruised. 

"How did this happen? Why are you... split?" Mark looked up at her.

"I... don't know. Ten weeks ago, I started having... alien thoughts. They sounded like my voice, but not as I hear it in my head. It was like a recording, filled with spite, trying to tear apart everything I did. And then I started finding myself somewhere, not knowing why. I had walked there, I knew it, I just didn't know why. At some point it was longer, more frequent, and I realised I didn't know why I was going somewhere, because I was not the one making the decision. I tried to get help, but then I'd lose control, and find myself back again." He took a slow, deep breath, still massaging his hand. "It became a fight for control, and I was sure I was mad. Every time I picked up the phone, I would put it down again. Every time I opened the front door, I would shut it again. I was trapped. I managed to get Chica out of the house, after fighting with myself for hours and hours and hours, but after that... it was a losing battle. And well... when he took full control... you know what happened..."

Y/n contemplated this for a moment. 

"What happened ten weeks ago?" She asked.

"What?"

"What happened ten weeks ago, when this all started?"

"I... was in Cincinnati. Why?" He stopped rubbing his hand, sitting up a little straighter, curious.

"Something must have happened to cause this, so something must have happened in Cincinnati..." She said, being logical, critical. "I can't leave you like this... we have a few days before anyone expects to hear from me." Mark opened his mouth to speak, but Y/n kept going. "Something like this can't have gone unnoticed if it happened before, so it's likely been seen in a story or something, maybe an urban legend. We need to fix this."

"This isn't your fight, you sho-"

"No, it isn't, it's your fight. But you're losing, so maybe I can do something to even the odds. Hopefully without a baseball bat." She said, pulling a wry grin. Mark looked almost like he wanted to argue, but held back, putting on a small smile.

"So... where do we start?"

__________

"Do you think this will work?" Mark said, looking down at the makeshift duct tape binds holding him to his seat. 

"Hopefully? I don't know. You don't have that much stuff that could help stop an evil alter-ego of yourself."

Mark was duct-taped around the chest to the chair, with duct-tape around his wrist, then going out like a rope, attaching them to each other and the arms of the chair. Y/n had as many 'weapons' as she could find, hammers, tire-iron, actual iron, knives, forks... spoons? They'd moved another desk into Mark's room, so she could watch him, incase he stopped being... Mark. 

She had her laptop on her desk, and Mark was in front of his computer. Y/n went, and sat down, getting down to work.

Even if it took all day, she was not going to stop until she knew how to fix him.


	6. Progress

"This isn't working." Mark huffed, running his hands down his face. 

"We can't just sit here waiting for Dark to emerge again!" Y/n replied adamantly, but even she knew it wasn't going well. Three hours and nothing. She was hungry, thirsty, tired - but she dare not leave Mark there alone, knowing that at the very least she didn't want to become a horror movie clichè. Mark pulled a face at her rebuttal, clearly feeling similar.

"This _isn't_ working. We could be at this for days and not find anything."

"Well maybe we just need to come at it from a different angle. We've been looking at the world at large, maybe we should be looking specifically at Cincinnati, since that's where it started." She was trying to convince herself as much as him.

"We don't know that it even _did_ start in Cincinnati!"

"We have to at least _try_." The tension in the room was palpable - too long, too tired, too scared. Neither one was in the right headspace for dealing with other people.

Mark pulled a face, but then turned back to his computer. Silence filled the air as they tapped away at their keyboards. Minutes passed, with nothing new, until:

"I found something!" Mark said, eyes wide, a new energy in his voice. Y/n rolled her chair round next to him. "You were right, it's a local legend -  I remember being told it as a kid. I can't believe I didn't put two and two together! There's this abandoned subway underneath Cincinnati, the biggest in the United States. They had to stop building it in the nineteen-twenties, because of money or something. But the kid's liked to say it was something else - they all told this story about workers going mad - going home and burning their houses down, then telling the police they didn't know why. They said there was an evil force that would _split_ the people who went down there." Mark looked at Y/n, clearly reinvigorated.

"According to this article, that story has been around since long before you were a kid. It seems to have originated _before_ the subway was even built." Y/n said, skimming through the article on-screen.

"Exactly! I went into one of the abandoned stations - they're just open for all to see - to nose around, and something must have affected me!"

"See - I told you we could do it. We just need to figure out the origin of this story, and whatever is doing this." Y/n grinned. Finally, they were making progress.

"Yeah! Now you just need to untie me!" Mark grinned back.

"I need to what?" Suddenly, she was washed over by a sense of unease.

"Untie me. I can work faster that way!" Y/n's heart started thumping.

"You've been working fine so far..." She rolled her chair back slightly.

"Come on - don't you trust me?" Then she saw it - the twitch.

Her eyes grew wide, and she rolled her chair away. Mark's face fell, going cold.

"Oh well. It was worth a shot." He rolled his chair forward. Y/n rocketed out of hers, and darted for her desk. She picked up the hammer. Mark, no Dark, cracked his neck, coming ever closer. 

Y/n  swung the hammer, hitting Dark in the temple with the side of it. He immediately went limp. Y/n stood there, huffing and puffing, before bursting out into laughter. She had been terrified by a man rolling towards her in a desk chair. 

 _What was he gonna do, run over my foot?_ She just kept on laughing, looking at him, coming down from the adrenaline. She sobered herself after a few minutes, realising she ought to check on Mark. Carefully, she reached forward, putting two fingers on his wrist. 

 _Ba-dum ba-dum, ba-dum ba-dum._ He was fine - although he was probably going to be rocking a major headache. She took a deep, calming breath. She rolled her chair round to Mark's desk, and set to work.

__________

She had really needed a drink, and he wasn't using them, so Y/n had taped Mark's arms down. And she'd then taped the chair to the bed. And the bed to the wall. And Mark's legs to the chair. She'd gone a little bit mad with the tape, but better safe than sorry.

So she sat there with a mug of coffee, and a bag of crisps, legs pulled onto the chair, scrolling through the sites, playing music off of youtube, with Mark's headphones on. Despite herself, she felt perfectly content. She had a notepad document open, taking notes. 

"Urgh..."

Y/n yanked off her headphones, looking over at Mark. He winced as he opened his eyes, looking around. He looked down at his binds, before looking up at Y/n, who was just watching silently. 

"I feel like I was hit in the head with a hammer." He put on a small smile, before wincing again, and looking away. Y/n wrapped her hand around the handle of the hammer.

"Mark or Dark?" She demanded.

"Mark." He responded, only one eye open, the other one half shut.

"Prove it." Y/n said, pointing with the hammer.

"How? How am I supposed to prove who I am? I have a demonic whatever-the-fuck invading me, splitting me in half, taking over my life and my body! How am I supposed to prove _anything_?" He whined desperately.

Y/n put the hammer down. 

"Good enough." Mark looked at her confusedly, but let it slide.

"So what now?" He asked quietly.

"We fix you."


	7. Symbol

"Fix me how?" Mark asked, still looking pained.

"While you've been so rudely sleeping," She smirked playfully, "I've been continuing with the research. Whatever the origin of this is, it's old... like annoyingly old, so there's near to no actual documentation that I could find. But, it does seem to be cross-continental. Wherever and whenever I identified it, the name was some variation of 'split' or 'duplicate' or something along those lines, no actual names. But on almost all the original sources for it, there was this symbol, so I've got a sharpie," She lifted it up for a moment, "And I figured I'd draw this on your arm first, then we go through the other things I found." Mark didn't seem convinced.

"How is a sharpie symbol going to 'fix' me." 

"Well... it's worth a shot at least. If it showed up so much, there has to be a reason for it." Mark still frowned, but put up no argument. As she stood, Y/n looked at the hammer, considering its use, before picking up the sharpie and moving over to Mark.

She found a duct tape-less spot on his wrist, looking up to Mark for permission. Without any objections, she looked on the back of her hand where she had sketched the symbol on with byro. Taking great care, she drew it onto his wrist. The last stroke completed, she stood once more.

"Any difference?" She asked, empathetically.

"I..." He stammered out, before suddenly squeezing his eyes shut. "Ah my head!" He tried to pull his hands up to his head, but was held back by his binds. Panicking, Y/n ran from the room. Moments later, she came back, with a damp cloth. She pressed it against Mark's wrist. 

"NO!" Mark's eyes snapped open. Y/n jumped away.

"What?" Y/n's voice was raised by nearly an octave.

"My head... feels like it's splitting open... but I don't feel him..." Mark forced out. "I don't feel 'Dark'." Y/n just stood there for a moment, watching. Somehow, she just knew he was telling the truth, something in his words, in the way he was holding himself, something. She went to Mark's desk, grabbing a large pair of scissors. She came back to him, cutting him free from all his binds.

He didn't even look at her, just buried his head in his hands. Y/n opened and closed her mouth, trying to think of something to say. She stepped back around to the computer. She clicked through the tabs until she found the one she wanted.

"The symbol showed up everywhere, but only one placed explained it." She kept her tone neutral. "It says it blocks the dark side of the split. If it isn't there, it won't be able to 'take root', but if it is, it will try to push it out, which is probably what is going on." She looked up at him. He hadn't moved, but he did seem to be listening. She took a deep breath. "It also says that once it is there, it can't be destroyed - it exists, and now it always will." Mark looked up at her. She didn't look at him.

"There's more, but I stopped reading it earlier, and went to look at other things." She still didn't look over.

"I can't live with this. I can't take this permanently. It's just can't happen." He searched for her eyes, but they were locked on the computer screen. 

"I know. I'll read through the rest of this, and we'll figure it out. Do you think you'll be okay while I do?" She tried to keep her tone flat, but she felt desperate.

"Uhh... yeah." Mark said. He got up, and lay on his bed, his back to Y/n. He buried himself in the blankets as she read on.

\-----

_Those afflicted fast lost themselves to their other. Their other's were all driven by a poison - anger, envy, fear. They are of inhuman strength, but fall as would any man. If either half died, so would the other. In the early days, those afflicted would be killed before they were taken over, but we know more now. We can prevent it, but if that fails, there can be a full split._

"A full split?" Y/n whispered.


	8. Two

'...Purify the area..." _Salt will work, right?_ She thought. _It's what they say on all the weird witchcrafty sites._

'...Carve into the earth...' _Lay down paper and write it in sharpie._

'...Repeat the following...' _Wait, will this even work in english? I'll get the google translate voice to say the original._

She stood back, looking at her preparations, uncertain of whether or not to be proud. She sighed, resigned. 

"Hey Mark..." She said gently, stepping over to where he was lying. "How are you?" He rolled over and squinted, looking pale and pained. His only response was a quiet grunt.

"Can you come and stand in the middle of this?" He slowly dragged himself from the bed standing as directed. He looked at the pieces of paper taped together in a circle, foreign symbols scribbled haphazardly across. 

"What is this?" He asked quietly. Y/n looked at him, as she went to her laptop.

"The document described some sort of 'full split', and a ritualistic how-to guide. I don't know what it is, but if it may help..." She explained. "This is a bit of a DIY fiasco, but if the sharpie symbol worked, it may be more to do with intent than application... hopefully. We'll find out anyway." She pressed a button on her computer, and the google translate voice read out something unintelligible.

Mark looked at her confusedly, but seemed too weak to actually question it. Y/n watched, waiting.

Mark began to twitch. Moments later, he fell to his knees, huffing and puffing. Y/n's pulse spiked, but she dared not interfere as the robotic voice droned on. Mark's twitches turned to spasms, and he started scream. 

_This was supposed to be painless, what the hell is going on?_

Adrenaline coursed through her. He seemed to be moving impossibly fast, yet also didn't even seem to move at all. All she could be certain of was his screams of pain, as she stood frozen in horror.

_God please don't let this be for nothing._

His screams echoed, filling the air. Then, somehow, it sounded like there was two voices, each the same, yet infinitely different.

Panicked, terrified, Y/n fell to her knees, hands over her ears. Hyperventilating, shaking, the screams bit into her, tearing her apart. 

_Please no, please no, oh god make it stop..._

After far too long, the screaming stopped. The voice of the computer had stopped too. Y/n looked over at Mark, her breathing still erratic. He was curled on his side in the fetal position. And he lay there, he was on his back too, staring at the ceiling, as bare as the day he was born.

Eyes as black as eternity.

"Dark?" She asked, knowing already the answer. His chest rose and fell, as he looked to her. A manic grin crossed his features.

"Hey babe, did you miss me?" His voice came out as an infinity, surrounding her.

He began to push himself up, but fell back with a pained groan. Y/n's breathing turned back to normal, but the adrenaline running through her still had her on edge. 

Uncertain how to react, she went over to the bed and grabbed Mark's blanket, before throwing it over Dark. He looked at her, confused.

"Aren't you scared of me?" He asked.

"Not really. I read up on you - I know you. You're as mortal as the rest of us; what is there to fear?" She stated; despite this, she still picked up the hammer with her left hand. She noticed he had the same bruise on his face as Mark did.

They stared each other down. In the silence she noticed something. Almost imperceptibly, Mark was sobbing into his hands. She fell to the ground next to him, grabbing his hands. 

"Hey, Mark, you alright?" She said quickly and gently. Tear tracks were settled against his skin, as he looked up to her. He was breathing heavily.

"Fuck that was not fun..." He said, shaking slightly. She pulled him so he was sitting up. 

He immediately wrapped his arms around her, and leant into her, burying his head in the crook of her neck. Her mouth formed an 'o' shape, but she wrapped her right arm around him also, her hand in his hair. Dark pushed himself up again, pained, eyes narrowed as he looked at y/n and Mark. 

"Pathetic." He muttered, even as he winced. She pointed at Dark with the hammer, contempt in her face. She suddenly softened, a small giggle slipping out.

"What." Dark snarled. 

"I'm pretty sure I just made a person." She giggled. "To be honest, I am still pretty certain that I'm mad, but if the universe has deemed otherwise, then I have managed to fall face-first into the absolute weirdest series of events ever." She bit down on her lip, trying to hold in her laughter.

Dark rolled his eyes, and fell back, exhausted. She felt laughter rumble momentarily in Mark's chest, as she absentmindedly played with his hair. Mark's sobs subsided, but he stayed as he was, and there they all were, at peace if only for the moment.

 


	9. Pancakes

"Not going to happen." Dark snarled, but he didn't move. Y/n rolled her eyes.

"Unfortunately, duct tape is stronger than your word, and I'd rather not have you kill one of us when you recover." She stated, already tired of him. Dark pulled a face, but let her bind his hands and ankles, before pulling him up to lean against the wall. She looked at the roll of tape. 

 _I don't think I'll be able to get more for a while... and it's basically ran out._ Cursing herself momentarily for going so tape-happy earlier, she put the roll down, turning to Mark.

He was laying in his bed once more. She didn't know how he felt in the slightest, but she knew it wasn't good. Aside from the pains from the... whatever it was earlier, he hadn't ate or drank anything all day, and the sun was all but set. 

"I'll go find something for you guys to eat," She said gently. "And maybe some painkillers." Mark grunted what she thought was an affirmative, while Dark refused to respond.

She headed downstairs. She was still shocked by how well she was taking everything. So much crazy had happened, but yet she was still so... calm. She got to the kitchen and looked around. She found the painkillers, and filled two glasses of water, putting it all on a tray. She rummaged through the cupboards and fridge, and after some consideration, decided to make bacon pancakes for the boys.

Putting the two platefuls of food on the tray, drizzling the pancakes with maple syrup, she headed back upstairs. Mark sat himself up as she entered, smiling weakly. Dark gave her an appraising look, but elsewise ignored her. 

"I've made some bacon pancakes for the two of you." She set the tray down on the desk, before taking a glass of water over to Mark with some painkillers. "This should hopefully take the edge off of everything." 

He smiled weakly, taking the small pills and the water. She went and grabbed his food, swapping it for the water after he was done. He immediately dove in, his hunger clear. Dark sneered at the whole interaction. Y/n noticed this, and rolled her eyes at him, before grabbing his water and painkillers. As she took them over to him, he looked confused. 

Y/n said nothing as she presented the painkillers to him. Without the use of his hands, he just opened his mouth. She gave him the pills, and then a sip of water. The apprehension never left his features throughout the whole encounter. She went to grab his pancakes, and considered it for a moment. She spun back around to face Dark.

"If I unbind your hands, do you promise not to try to hurt me and Mark?" She demanded. Dark sneered, but seeing the expression on y/n's face, stopped. 

"Fine." He stated bluntly. Y/n was about to try to get a better response out of him, but decided against it. She picked up the knife and cut the duct tape around his wrists. He peeled it off and rubbed at the marks it left behind, never taking his eyes off y/n. She went back to the desk, placed the knife back, and lifted the plate of food up. Even as she handed the food to Dark, he never took his eyes off her. They stared at each other for a couple moments, each feeling vulnerable to the other, before he looked away and eagerly dug into his food. 

Mark had just about finished his, and looked up at y/n.

"What're you going to eat?" He asked quietly, his voice hoarse. Y/n paused for a moment.

_I hadn't even thought about that._

"Oh, I'm not hungry. It's fine." She said, smiling at him. She took the empty plate from him, putting it back on the tray. She stretched out and yawned.

"You tired?" Mark asked. She looked at him softly.

"A little, but I should keep an eye on you two, after what you've been through." After all the adrenaline in her system had worn off, her tiredness hit her like a tonne of bricks. Mark considered her response for a moment. 

"You could sleep in here; this bed is big enough." He stated. Y/n paused for a moment, weighing his offer. But the weight of her eyelids won out. Mark shuffled over, and she crept in beside him. Almost as soon as her head hit the pillow she was asleep. 

But even as she slept she felt charcoal eyes resting on her skin.


	10. Morning

He picked at his skin. _I'm cold..._ he thought. _Ahaha... I'm cold, not him, me._

He ran his hands over the skin of his arms, understanding the sensations, the way the blood coursed through his veins, his own life and body and form and-

His eyes were still settled on y/n. Even as he tried to understand his own being, he couldn't tear his eyes away. He reached up, locking his fingers in his hair, yanking it down, forcing his eyes away. He breathed slowly and deliberately.

_You should kill her._

_What?! Why?!_

_That will fix it. You won't have to care._

His eyes drifted back up to her. She lay there, the blankets resting lightly upon her skin. She lay facing away from him. _Facing Mark._

He looked at the tape wrapped around his ankles. He shifted so he could crawl over to the desk. He reached up, pawing around until his fingers landed on the handle of the knife. He pulled it from the desk, and immediately cut the tape at his ankles, tearing it from his skin, wincing. Breath quickening, he got to his feet.

At the edge of the bed, he towered over y/n's sleeping form. Even in the deep night blackness, he could see her perfectly. He lifted the knife in the air above him. Her chest rose and fell, oblivious to the threat bearing down upon her.

Dark tightened his grip; his breath caught in his throat. And then- _no._

_I won't. She trusted me - I gave her my word. I won't._

He hastily went back to the desk, putting the knife down carefully, wincing at the tiny clunk. He went back and settled into his spot against the wall. 

He picked at his skin. _I'm cold..._

* * *

She felt eyes on her skin. _Is it morning already?_ Tracing every feature of her. _Ughhhh..._

She tentatively opened her eyes, and they were immediately met by Mark's brown irises. 

"Good morning." She whispered. 

"'Morning." Mark whispered back.

"What time is it?" 

"I don't know - but it's definitely morning." She looked over Mark at the window, seeing light spilling through the window. 

"How're you feeling today?" He looked better than yesterday she thought, but it was so early she was surprised she was making coherent sentences.

"A lot better. Still a little bit achy, but hardly, especially compared to yesterday." He smiled lightly. She smiled back, before rolling onto her back. She looked over the edge of the bed at Dark. 

His knees were pulled up, his arms wrapped around them. His head was resting heavily upon them, and-

"His ankles..." She muttered.

"What?" Mark responded.

"He's taken the duct tape off his ankles." She grumbled.

"I'm awake you know." Dark growled from his place on the floor. Y/n's eyes widened for a moment, before she rolled them, turning back to Mark.

"We have to figure out what to do with him." He said flatly.

"Still here." Dark matched Mark's tone. Y/n huffed, quite literally stuck between them. She rolled out of bed. Mark looked at her questioningly. 

"I am not going to sit in the middle of any arguments before I get coffee." She stated. As she turned to leave, Dark got to his feet.

"I'll come help you." He said. Y/n opened her mouth to protest, but then looked at Mark.

_If I leave them, they'll just argue._

She silently nodded before leading the way to the kitchen. 

She put some water on to boil, deciding that instant coffee would do, before turning to Dark.

"So... how are you?" Her tone was relatively emotionless, but she still did want to know.

"I'm fine." He stated. And awkward silence hung in the air for many moments. Finally, Dark spoke again. "How... are... you?"

"I'm fine." She was unimpressed by how hard it seemed to be for him to ask such a simple question. Slowly rising above the morning grogginess, she noticed that all that Dark was wearing was the blanket she had thrown over him the night before. "We're going to have to get some clothes off of Mark for you." She turned away, finding a mug and the instant coffee. 

"Mm-hmm." He mumbled. As she looked away, his eyes roamed across her, curious. _Stop staring,_ he thought aggressively. Y/n paused for a moment. 

"Would you like some?" She asked.

"What!?" He blurted. She looked over to him.

"Would you like some coffee?" Dark froze for a moment, before forcing a noise that seemed like an agreement. Y/n looked away before rolling her eyes and grabbing two more mugs from the cupboard. 

"How do you take your coffee?" She asked.

"Uhh... milk and one sugar." He stammered. She put them in the mug along with the coffee powder, and did the same for the one that was going to be Mark's, before sorting out her own. She poured the now-boiled water into the mugs, handing one to Dark, then picking up the remaining two. They went back upstairs.

Mark was sitting up in bed on his phone. He smiled at y/n as they entered the room. She handed him his coffee before sitting down beside him. Dark put his coffee on the desk, and started rummaging through drawers. 

"What are you doing?" Mark demanded. Y/n subtly huffed at Mark. 

"I'm getting clothes." Dark snarled. Mark began trying to argue. 

"He needs clothes, Mark, he can't just wear a blanket." Mark pulled a face, but turned back to his phone anyway. Dark said nothing as he grabbed what he needed and headed out of the room. 

"I am not happy with this, y/n." Mark grumbled. Y/n sighed, letting her head fall to face him. 

"Neither is he. He was made from the worst parts of you - but he has had every chance to do something bad, and apart from being rude, he hasn't tried anything." She said gently, trying not to sound condescending.

"Hasn't done anything?! He tried to kill you y/n!" He snarled. 

"Well clearly something's changed!" She insisted. Once again, she didn't quite know why, she just knew it. Mark huffed slightly, but didn't argue. Y/n sat back up properly, sipping slightly at her hot coffee. 

After a minute or so, Mark leant over and rested his head on her shoulder. 

"Thank you for helping me through all this." Mark murmured gently. Y/n smiled.

"No problem Mark." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured a perspective shift would help make it seem a little more fresh. It had begun to feel a li'l 'and this happened then this happened and this happened and she thought this and-' so hopefully it made it a bit more interesting to read. It was certainly more interesting to write.


	11. Conflict

After everything, hot coffee was so good for her. _I'm supposed to go home tomorrow..._

Dust danced in the soft light pouring through the window; all that could be heard was Mark and y/n's soft breathing. 

Footsteps rang from the hallway, and the door swung open. Dark stepped through, wearing dark blue skinny jeans and a red plaid shirt. He'd sorted out his hair, but unlike Mark, wasn't wearing any glasses. He looked over to Mark and y/n, and a scowl immediately weighed down his face. For some reason, y/n couldn't help but feel a touch embarrassed, letting Dark see her and Mark so close. She mentally shook off the feeling, sipping at her coffee.

Dark pulled a chair up to the desk, sitting down rigidly, almost aggressively. He deliberately snatched up his coffee, never taking his eyes from where y/n and Mark sat.

Silence hung thickly in the air. 

_Is it going to be like this all day?_

"Do either of you still have any side-effects from yesterday?" She said, making a point of not seeming to be talking to one more than the other. 

"No." "Not really." Mark lifted his head from y/n's shoulder, taking a large gulp of his coffee. The silence returned.

Y/n pursed her lips, annoyed at the pairs refusal to be truly civil. She wasn't going to be there much longer, and at some point they had to get back to the real world.

She sighed, before saying "Dark, we're going to have to figure out what you're gonna do now." He narrowed his eyes.

"Why do you and Mark get to choose what _I_ do? You shou-" He snarled.

"That's not what I mean! "We're" as in you and me, Dark." She said, exasperated. She shook her head slightly.

"Wait, why don't I get a say in this?" Mark asked, eyebrows furrowed. Y/n took a deep breath before having to respond.

"It isn't your choice Mark. And you seem to have some very strong opinions about Dark as is." 

"So it's your choice?!" Dark snarled.

" **That's not what I mean.** " She yelled. Silence fell. Neither Dark nor Mark knew what to say. A slight pang of guilt settled on y/n despite herself, but she mentally shook it off. Suddenly the room felt too crowded. 

She got up and walked out with her coffee, heading downstairs and into the garden. She sighed.

She walked over to the pool, took off her socks, rolled up her trouser legs and sat at the edge, dipping her feet in the water. 

_I'll take any moments of solace I can find right now._

She sat there, sipping at her coffee, dreading having to go back in again. She laughed to herself at the absurdity of the situation.

"What's funny?" She twisted rounds, surprised to see Dark standing behind her, looking vaguely sheepish. 

"This... you... everything really." She said, gesturing vaguely with her coffee cup. Dark chuckled quietly and breathily, coming over to sit next to her, crosslegged. A silence was settled, but not quite as oppressive as it had been upstairs. 

A few moments passed, as they sipped at their coffee, enjoying each others company, before Dark piped up.

"I'm sorry about earlier." He mumbled. "I was out of line." Y/n laughed slightly.

"No... well yes but I shouldn't have stuck myself in the middle of it." She said gently. "It's not my place to say what you should do with your life. Even if you tried to kill me." She laughed again as Dark winced. 

"I'm sorry about that too." He pulled a face, that's nearest interpretation could be shame. Y/n just laughed.

"Something's changed since you and Mark split. I can feel it." She stated matter-of-factly. He raised one of his eyebrows, puzzled. She giggled at him.

"You pull the best faces." Her face was lit up with a massive grin. He screwed up his face, unimpressed; inevitably this just had her giggling harder.

He rolled his eyes and took a swig of coffee. She forced down her giggles, taking one final sip of coffee before putting her mug down. 

"You done now?" Dark said sarcastically. Y/n still had a huge grin on her face. Suddenly, Dark dropped his exaggerated expression, his mouth slightly parted. 

He immediately reached forward and gripped the back of her neck, pulling them both together, and pressing his lips against hers.


	12. Push and Pull

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd never vanish for two years, what are you talking about?
> 
> On a related note, if there is a slight change in tone, sorry, it shouldn't be too noticeable, and I never really had a plan for how to wrap this up anyway so it will be just as on track as ever.

She froze. Her hands shot up, not knowing if they wanted to push him off or pull him closer.

Just as her fingers brushed against the fabric of his shirt, he was pulling away

_No, not pulling, being pushed_

He fell into the water and Y/n looked up at Mark, his face contorted with anger. Y/n just sat there, opening and closing her mouth like a goldfish as Dark clambered his way out of the water. 

They were yelling, she was certain, but it all sounded like white noise. There was a feeling at the back of her mind, pressing against her, dragging her from what was happening right in front of her. 

She pulled herself back to reality, getting to her feet. Both Mark and Dark's hands were balled into fists, white knuckles glaring, waiting to be put to use.  _I must have burnt down an orphanage in a past life to have to deal with this now..._

"What the hell was that about?" She declared. Both men turned to look at her. Mark folded his arms, wearing a slightly smug expression, and looked to Dark, who's jaw was pulsing as he dripped pool water.

"Yes, Dark, please explain-" Mark started.

"No. Not Dark. Why the hell did you think doing something so childish as pushing Dark in the pool was even vaguely a good idea?"

"What? He kissed you, he-"

"Oh, how evil, thank you for protecting me from the great danger that is a three-second kiss, my hero." She deadpanned. Mark stood there for a moment, his face running through confusion and anger.

He huffed. "Anyway, I came out to say that I'm going to go and get Chica, I'll be back soon." He scowled and left.

Y/n pursed her lips briefly, watching him go. She turned back to see a sodden and bemused Dark. 

"What?" She huffed.

"Just nice to see Mark get some comeuppance." He smirked. 

"I will push you back in the pool." She stated. He could tell she didn't mean it, and he smiled even wider.

"So, where were we?" He stated playfully.

She contemplated for half a second. "I should clear up everything from the ritual yesterday, and you should take a shower and change those clothes." He scowled. 

She went to go inside, then his hand gently grabbed her arm, and turned her back around. He pulled her into him, and she didn't fight it. 

"Y/n..." He whispered. Dampness seeped into her clothes, and she felt the cold and the warm and her breathing was so loud. 

_What am I doing?_

"If you ask me to stop, I will; I'm a man of my word. But if you have no objection..." He trailed off, as his grip on her tightened, and his other arm traced itself up her body, brushing across her arm and her neck, gently resting in her hair as she looked him in the eye.

_He tried to kill me._

_But **he** didn't, did he?_

_Oh screw it, I want this._

She pressed her lips to his, hard and excited. Their bodies were pressed so close she could feel his heart beating. Any doubts she'd had about him melted away, somehow it just felt right.

Eventually, they pulled apart. She tried to get as much air as possible, as she traced his face for any hint of what he was feeling. He just looked at her and smirked.

"I'm going to go have a shower." He stated and went inside without another glance.  _What the..?_

She stood there dazed for a moment, before following him in and going back to the bedroom. She set to work tidying up the room, taking the chance to clear her head too.

_I kissed him. He kissed me first, but I kissed him. He might not even be human, and he is made of all the worst parts of Mark._

_And what about Mark? He clearly didn't like Dark making a move on me. What if Dark made a move just to wind up Mark?_

_But then why would he do it again after Mark left? And when did he get so confident in what he was doing?_

She bit her lip as she worked and thought. There was so much confusion in the past two days.  _Has it really only been that long?_ _  
_

She got that feeling again, of charcoal eyes. She turned to the doorway to see a freshly washed Dark in only a towel, jaw locked as he looked her up and down.

"Don't mind me, I'm just actually being productive, you just stand there and be creepy." He smirked at her, and went to sit on the edge of the bed.

"There's one thing I still wonder about you y/n."

"Oh?" She stated flatly.

"How did you know how to do all this?" He asked inquisitively.

"What do you mean, you saw the whole thing." She stated, confused. "I was just as lost as Mark was."

"No, you weren't. You immediately thought of folklore, every step you knew what would work." He stated intensely. "You didn't question that there was something supernatural at work at any point. You may have called yourself mad but we both know you knew this was real from the start. How?"

She faltered.  _What the... he's right. I did know. Never in my life have I been anywhere near any of this but I knew, I've just been able to feel it. How on earth..?_

"I-I don't know. You're not wrong, but I don't know how you're right." She mumbled. "I just had some... feeling about all of this, but I..."

"It can't be a coincidence that you knew how to... fix... this, that of everyone in the whole world  _you_ were the one who ended up here." He stared at her intensely. "I might not know what I am, but you are a far greater enigma."

"I-" A door slammed. 

"I'm back." Mark declared loudly and grumpily. 

"We don't have time to deal with me, right now we've got to deal with everything else." She stated, getting back to work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have to say, after two years, the want to go back and fix the clunkiness of everything is strong  
> But I wont, 'cause I know I cant, and that wouldnt be fair anyhow, so sorry for past and current and future me


End file.
